1. Field:
The invention is in the field of panels for collecting solar energy in the form of heat and transferring it to a heat exchange fluid for either immediate use or for storage for future use.
2. State of the Art
During the last several years, interest in solar energy has increased enormously and there are many designs for panels for collecting heat energy from the sun and transferring such collected heat energy to a heat exchange fluid for immediate use or from which the heat is extracted for storage.
Most present panels for absorbing solar heat energy contain a heat absorbing material which is exposed to direct sunlight and over, around, or through which, a heat exchange fluid is passed to absorb heat therefrom. Such panels absorb energy from direct incidence of the sun's rays and are thus somewhat limited in the temperature they can obtain and in their efficiency. Such panels do not utilize means for concentrating or magnifying the sun's energy.
A heat collecting panel that utilizes means for magnifying the sun's energy is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,016 which shows a panel of triangular cross section having a series of magnifying glasses arranged to focus the sun on a heat absorbing material over which a stream of air is blown in order to absorb the heat from the heat-absorbing material. The panel structure is essentially air tight, so that the air blown into the chamber exits through a hot air duct and is then used.
All prior art systems leave much room for improvement in the amount of energy collected and in the efficiency of such collection.